APRIL 2007 
       AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH &
       CHILD ABUSE AWARENESS MONTH

 ABUSED/DEFRAUDED BY WWASPS?
  Contact: www.wturley.com
  Click here for Ammended Complaint; Click here for WWASPS
                News

    UPDATE RE ACCUSED CHILD ABUSER RANDALL
    HINTON ... More >>

WHY SHOULD THIS CONCERN YOU?

 BECAUSE IT COULD BE YOUR CHILD.

 Click here to learn more

  TODAY - May 17, 2007

  RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT:

  IS IT HELPING OR HARMING OUR KIDS?

  Today we learned another child died in a wilderness program - he was
  placed into the program by the Utah Juvenile Justice System. Click here
  for Caleb's story.

  Today a child lay in a hospital bed fighting for his life after he tried to end
  it - he was severely abused for years in the Florida Juvenile Justice System

  Today another child sits in a jail cell waiting for some sign of release - he
  has been locked up and abused in the Florida Juvenile Justice System
  for 5 years! His abusers were seen abusing him on video - several were
  fired - yet this child still sits in a cell in their system.

  Today a child was placed on suicide watch after she was wrongly placed
  into a Florida DJJ facility, stripping her of her dreams and hopes and all
  that she has worked so hard to accomplish.

  TODAY CAICA IS ASKING FOR CHANGE! May 17, 2007

  FLORIDA: WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR THINGS TO CHANGE?

  While we are pleased that several abusive employees were fired at the Dozier
  School for Boys, a Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Facility where Justin
  Caldwell was abused, we are perplexed with the continued injustices.

  Christopher Sholly, a special needs child, was locked into the DJJ system for
  5 years! His crime? A school-yard fight with another child. While children should
  be disciplined for fighting, I hardly think any of us would consider it cause to lock
  a child up for 5 years. During those years he was severely abused. Today? Today
  he laid in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital, fighting for his life. Why? Because
  he has lost his will to fight and to live. Let us all pray for his recovery and that he
  finds a reason to live. His youth was stripped from him and he was never given the
  tools to deal with everyday life outside the walls of DJJ. He spent his time there
  learning to survive. No child should endure this sort of mental and physical torture.
  Click here for Christopher's story.

  Justin Caldwell has also been locked up in the Florida DJJ system for 5 years.
  He never committed a crime - he was a 12 year old boy who needed some help.
  Help he could have easily received at home with some therapy. But when DJJ
  gets involved they take over these children's lives. While we have seen video of
  Justin being abused by DJJ employees, and while several employees have been
  fired as a result of the abuse, this child still sits in the Florida Justice System.
  He needs to be home with his family. What is going to happen to Justin? Will he
  be strong enough to survive the years of abuse, the years of witnessing others
  being abused? Click here for Justin's story.

  Understand that when these children are locked into this system their parents
  are helpless - if they learn of abuse they must fight for their children from the
  outside - few receiving the help they need. They fight year after year while
  hearing of the abuse their child has had to endure. For five years, at times,
  parents have not spent a Christmas with their child, they have not been able
  to take their child to lunch, to a movie, their child has missed all school dances,
  the proms, a proper education, graduation. When parents visit they must look
  at their child through glass. These children are children. They are not criminals.
  Things need to change!

  Today a girl named Marena was put on suicide watch. Her mother is shocked
  because just yesterday her daughter was planning to take her final tests and
  graduate high school soon. She held a good job at Ruby Tuesdays. She was
  faithfully putting her paychecks in the bank for college. She had a vision and a
  purpose. Several months ago she found herself in a bit of trouble. She tried
  drugs and realized it was not the path she wanted to take. So, with the help
  of her mom, she got away from the person who provided her with the drugs, made
  it her mission to do well in school, which she has, to graduate on time, which
  she would have, and to go on to college. But DJJ felt a need to intervene. Today
  they ordered her into one of their programs - she learned after arriving that the
  program would last about a year and a half. What about graduating from high
  school? What about the prom? The graduation ceremony? Her job? College?
  They announced the program she has been placed into will teach her cooking
  and landscaping skills. This girl is way beyond that and had a vision and dream.
  She lost that today and found herself on suicide watch.

  Things need to change in Florida. If your child has been negatively affected by
  the Florida DJJ system, please e-mail us at info@caica.org.

  CAICA IS SAD TO ANNOUNCE ANOTHER CHILD HAS DIED

   
CALEB JENSEN

Died: May 2, 2007, 15 years old
Program: Alternative Youth Adventures, Colorado
Sent there by: Utah Juvenile Justice Department
Cause of Death: Preliminary cause medical negligence

Caleb "showed observable signs of staphylococcus
infection that were neglected." Preliminary indications
are he died of natural causes, meaning his death was
not a suicide, homicide, or due to an accident.

Click here for articles

 CALEB'S LAST LETTER TO HIS MOM, JUST A WEEK AGO, READ:

"I wish I could go back and be a good little boy, a nice little
naive church boy who couldn't steal bubble gum without feeling
bad about it. I want to wear Sponge Bob PJs and Teddy Bear
slippers and cuddle with my Mommy. I used to think I was too
hard of a gangster that nobody could break me, but they found
my weakness and I want to go home. Tell Heather and Marie I
miss them. I miss you and love you all so much. Please write
back. I love you. PS - I want my Mommy."
Love, you're baby boy, Caleb

 * NOTE: CAICA President, Isabelle Zehnder, has read many letters from children to
 their parents and has seen a pattern where children appear to be completely
 broken, begging for "Mommy", pleading to come home. These are not typical
 letters written teenagers. These are letters written by teenagers who seem to be
 broken and who seem desperate for help. Sadly, some not only never get the help
 they need, they have died in the process.

       WHEN IS ENOUGH GOING TO BE ENOUGH? Click here

  5-18-07 - DANIELLE'S ACT GOES TO DC

  New Jersey Senator, Robert Menendez, speaks out in support

  Two Blogs: Danielle Gruskowski and Danielle's Act

Mr. President, I rise today with my good friend Senator Lautenberg
to introduce Danielle's Act, an important piece of legislation that I
know will save countless lives. I also recognize Representative
Rush Holt, who has championed the bill in the House and has
been a tireless advocate for individuals with disabilities. This bill
is named in memory of a young woman from New Jersey, Danielle
Gruskowski, whose life was cut tragically short by a failure to
call 9-1-1. The great State of New Jersey has already passed
Danielle's Law, and it is time for Congress to act as well. More >>

     Danielle Gruskowski would most likely be alive today had 911 been called!

  CAICA ADVOCATE OF THE MONTH MAY 2007 - ROSE MOORE

  
   Remember ... Whatever we do, we do it for the Kids! - Rose Moore

  Rose Moore has been named CAICA's advocate of the month for the month
  of May 2007. Click here for more >>

  FOSTER CHILDREN: BATHROOMS AND BATHING TEXAS-STYLE - More >>

  MESSAGE FROM JO PELISHEK re ANGELLIKA "ANGIE" ARNDT
  The little 7-year old girl who died while being restrained in Day Treatment

  Although I’d sent out two notices to my media contacts, NONE of them showed
  up! Not sure what that’s about – but it was certainly disappointing. More >>

  NOTE FROM CAICA:

  It is our hope the lack of media attention will not discourage Jo and others to
  continue to share Angie's story, to continue to fight for what is right for children,
  and to continue to hold out hope that one day the world will see and understand
  the injustices happening to children every day. We hope they will wake up and
  realize these children who are being abused are our future. These very children
  may one day marry our children - their hurts could be our children's to share.
  Click here for more ... Click here for Angie's Story "Bubbles in My Milk".

  5-12-07 - HELP FOR DISTRAUGHT AND DESPERATE PARENTS

This article is written for parents who
 have, for one reason or another, found
 themselves at their wits’ end – many
 losing confidence to parent their own
 children and teens. Often the idea of
 sending a teen or pre-teen away to a
 residential facility or program is
 tempting, especially when parents feel
 they are not being heard or when their
 child or teen is being defiant.

 Parents who have succumbed to that
 temptation have shared with me that
 if they knew then what they know now
 they would never have sent their child
 or teen away. More >>

  VIDEOTAPE OF FLORIDA DJJ ABUSE TO JUSTIN CALDWELL RELEASED

  Click here for Timeline and Article (17:52:58 - Abuse begins - three views)
  (click on arrow below to start video) - if the video does not start when
  clicking on the white arrow in the center, try clicking on the bar at the bottom
  of the screen).

  NEWS                                                                                Site Map   

  CURRENT & ARCHIVE NEWS: (click on links below)
  May 2007 ▪  April 2007 ▪ March 2007 ▪ February 2007 ▪  ▪ Archive News
   
  FEATURE NEWS: (click on links below)
  May/June 2007 ▪  March/April 2007 ▪  January/February 2007

  LEAD STORIES:

  4/28/07 -

  IMPRISONED SINCE 13, AN ADULT JUSTIN CALDWELL REMAINS
  WALLED IN
 
When he closes his eyes, Mark Caldwell sees his son when
 he was 2 years old, following his father's grownup lawn mower
 with a little plastic version. Justin has been locked in the
 Florida DJJ since he was 13, he's 18. His father believes, as
 do many others, that kids are kept in the system for profit.
 Mark says, "I want my son home ... I want justice served."
 More >>
 

  4/27/07 - JUNE TRIAL SCHEDULED IN TRAVIS PARKER CASE

Six employees charged with murder and child cruelty in
 the death of a camper at the Applachian Wilderness
 Camp in northeast Georgia face trial June 4.

 The employees maintained in pre-trial motions in
 White County Superior Court this week that they had
 acted as they had been trained when dealing with 13-
 year-old Travis Parker at the camp for troubled boys
 near Cleveland. More >> (Click here for more information
 about Travis' death - scroll down to locate Travis).

  4/27/07

  ABUSE CONTINUES IN FLORIDA DJJ
 
 
 CAICA works with parents to effect change
 within the Florida Department of Juvenile
 Justice (DJJ). Click here for more.

  MORE TROUBLE IN FLORIDA - THIS TIME IN COUNTY JAIL
  Click here for video
 

  4/25/07

  SHERIFF'S OFFICE TO PAY $2.25M IN BOOT CAMP DEATH


 More than a year after a 14-year-old boy died
 following a violent struggle with guards at a
 juvenile boot camp in Panama City, his parents
 have agreed to a $2.25 million settlement with
 the sheriff's office that ran the camp. >> More   

                                                                             More recent news    

  4/27/07

  JUDGE RULES ON TODDLERS BEING TAUGHT TO SMOKE POT

  Click here to watch video

  4/27/07

  PARENTS, BEWARE WHO YOU LEAVE YOUR CHILDREN WITH

  A man accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend's two young sons and sexually assaulting her daughter told police he was disciplining the boys over their chores and the situation escalated, police said Friday. More >>

  4/27/07

  Senate panel reinstates full $5-million for death

  The parents of a teenager who died after being roughed up by guards at a state-run boot camp should get
  $5-million, not a smaller amount recommended by lawyers, a state Senate committee voted Tuesday.
  More >>

  4/24/07

  FLORIDA PAYS UP - FINALLY

  Nearly 20 years after she was paralyzed during a botched back surgery, Minouche Noel and her family may
  finally get the millions a jury ordered the state to pay them. More >>

  4/18/07 - DOZIER SCHOOL HALTS ADMISSIONS - The truth is finally told

  Click here to view video; click here for article

  PRESS RELEASE AND EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS RE ABUSE AT DOZIER

  Justin Caldwell, an 18-year old boy, has been incarcerated in the Florida Juvenile Justice System since he
  was 13. What should have been a 12-15 month stay in a residential treatment center to allegedly “help”
  Justin turned into a five-year nightmare.

  Click here for Press Release

  Click here for Interview with Mark Caldwell

  Click here for interview with Attorney Richard Reno

  4/18/07 - CAICA RELEASES ANOTHER PRESS RELEASE ABOUT FLORIDA DJJ

  Several days ago Guard Williams at Manatee allegedly choked two youth. The first youth was allegedly
  chocked on April 15, the exact time is unsure. The second was allegedly choked the same day,
  immediately following the first youth’s choking incident. Click here for Press Release.

  FEATURE STORY: ABUSE CONTINUES IN FLORIDA DJJ
 
  4/17/07
 
 Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ)
 Dozier School for Boys - Justin Caldwell

 "Mark Caldwell again, I think you might not actually know what happened to my son Justin
 Caldwell at Dozier on February 11th 2007. So I am going to tell you, then you will know ...
  More >>
  

Dozier School for Boys - Christopher Sholly

 "Another attempt to mess with my time Aurther G Dozier School for Boys, Marianna FL ..."
 Click here to read Christopher's diary.
 

Dozier School for Boys - Attorney Richard Reno

 Rick Reno, attorney for Justin Caldwell and Christopher Sholly, is working to help repair a
 broken system - the Florida Dept. of Juvenile Justice. The same system that killed Martin
 Lee Anderson and others.

 Click here to read CAICA' Press Release and an exclusive interview with Attorney Reno.

  MARK CALDWELL NAMED CAICA ADVOCATE OF THE MONTH:  More ...

  Visit: www.justice4kids.org for more information about Florida DJJ.

  4/23/07

 CALIFORNIA TOWNS LOCK SCHOOLS AFTER THREAT

 Teachers locked classroom doors, lowered shades and kept nearly 22,000 school
 children inside all day on Thursday in two northern California cities after a man
 threatened to go on a killing spree inspired by Monday's mass murder at Virginia
 Tech. More >> (multiple articles)
 

  4/15/07

  CCSD IN NEVADA RETALIATES AGAINST MOTHER OF AUTISTIC SON FOR EXPOSING ABUSE 

  CAROLINE AND JAKE RANGEN - When is enough, enough?

 Caroline Rangen, mother of Jake Rangen - an 8th grade boy who is autistic, suffers from
 Asperger's Syndrome, is visually impaired - is retaliated against because she exposed child
 abuse that occurred within the Clark County School District in Nevada.  Read more >>

  4/13/07 - NYRA ANNOUNCES NEW BOOK ON YOUTH RIGHTS:

  A new book by Dr. Robert Epstein, The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen,
  argues that young people are more competent than most people think. For more information check out:
  http://drrobertepstein.com/index.phpoption=content&task=view&id=10&Itemid=29.

  4/3/07 

  TODAY - APRIL 3, 2007 - IS JOEY'S BIRTHDAY - Let us be reminded ... let us not forget!

  Giovanni "Joey" Aletriz would have celebrated his 18th birthday today. His life was cut short when he was
  brutally beaten and restrained at a residential treatment facility - Summit Quest - in February 2006.
  Click here for information about Joey; Click here for Joey's Blog; Click here to light a candle for Joey.

  3/31/07 - AVON PARK, FLORIDA - POLICE ARREST 6-YEAR OLD GIRL

A 6-year-old girl was in the custody of her mother Friday after the Avon Park Police Department escorted the girl in hancuffs from Avon Elementary School to the Highlands County Jail on charges relating to battery of a school employee.

Click here for articles.

  3/31/07 - IVY RIDGE SUES STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

  The Academy at Ivy Ridge in Ogdensburg has filed a lawsuit against the state Education Department and
  its commissioner, Richard P. Mills, over that agency's rejection of the school's application to become a
  private secondary institution. Click here for article, click here for more news about Ivy Ridge.

 3/24/07

GIRL'S OVERDOSE DEATH RAISES QUESTIONS
 
 In the final months of Rebecca Riley's life, a school nurse said the little girl was so weak
 she was like a "floppy doll." The preschool principal had to help Rebecca off the bus
 because the 4-year-old was shaking so badly. And a pharmacist complained that Rebecca's
 mother kept coming up with excuses for why her daughter needed more and more
 medication. None of their concerns was enough to save Rebecca. More >>            

 3/20/07

SEARCH CONTINUES FOR RUNAWAY STUDENTS

 The search is still on to find the missing boys from a North Country boarding school.  Even
 with false leads, there is still hope to find the runaway teens. More >>

 IVY RIDGE RUNAWAYS FOUND

 Four students who fled a behavior modification program near Ogdensburg were caught Tuesday afternoon. As of
 early Tuesday evening all four were in custody of State Police in Ogdensburg.  More >>

  3/18/07

SON ABUSED AT DOZIER - FATHER REACHES OUT FOR HELP

Father needs help to expose his son's abuse in the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice - Read boy's diary exposing abuse.Justin Caldwell, an 18-year old boy, has been incarcerated in the Florida Juvenile Justice System since he was 13. What was to be a 12-15 month stay in a residential treatment center to help Justin turned into a 5-year nightmare. Click here for blog

  3/17/07 - EX-EMPLOYEES SPEAK OUT AGAINST PARC PLACE

  Parc Place, a lockdown rehabilitation facility for troubled teens in north Chandler, is under fire from former
  employees who say the place is plagued by violence, poor management and lax care. More >>

  3/16/07

  AFFAIR WITH TEACHER LEADS TO SLAYING

  In a tragic twist to a familiar story, a teenager who had sex with his married 30-year-old teacher was fatally
  shot outside the woman's home, and authorities have charged the woman's husband. More >>

   3/14/07

NEW CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST RANDALL HINTON
 Hinton will now face seven counts of third-degree assault, a Class I Misdemeanor, and two counts
 of second-degree false imprisonment, a Class II Misdemeanor. There are seven victims in this case.
 More >>

 Hinton is the same staff member who pepper-sprayed Kerry Layne Brown every day, multiple times per day, for nine months. He admitted to this on video. More >>
 

  3/12/07

 JAIL TIME AND FINES LEVELED IN DEATH OF WISCONSIN GIRL

 A counseling center received the maximum fine and one of its staffers was sentenced to 60
 days in jail Monday in the death of a 7-year-old girl who had been restrained at a center in
 Rice Lake because of behavioral problems. More >>
 

 WISCONSIN CLINIC FINED $100,000 IN GIRL'S DEATH

 Angellika Arndt died in May at age 7 after being restrained by an employee at a Rice Lake facility. A Barron
 County Circuit judge levied the maximum fine against a Wisconsin company that owned a counseling center
 found responsible in the death of a 7-year-old girl last year. More >>

  3/11/07 - A CALL FOR CHANGE FOR ANGIE

 Ten months after 7-year-old Angellika "Angie" Arndt died, those responsible will be sentenced
 Monday in a Wisconsin court. But few who knew Angie, or came to know her plight after her
 death, feel she will ever get justice.
 

 "Her case is extremely disturbing," said Isabelle Zehnder, president of the Washington state based Coalition
 Against Institutionalized Child Abuse. "And it never should have happened."  Article * Angie's story:
 "Bubbles in my Milk" * News re Angie (click here)

 3/11/07 - TWO BABIES ARE DEAD - FOSTER CARE SYSTEM BLAMED FOR NOT DOING THEIR JOB

                       
       Sariyah Garcia      Sebastian Lopez       Mother               Boyfriend 

  CHILD-DEATH SUSPECTS ARE NABBED - MOTHER AND BOYFRIEND ACCUSED OF MURDER

  A young mother was accused of abusing two of her children years ago. She and the children were placed in
  foster homes (she was under 18). She fled, leaving her children behind. They were later adopted.
  More >> For more on Foster Care Deaths, visit Suncana's website.

  3/8/07

FOSTER PARENT ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN
 Bella Vista police are searching for parents or caregivers of children left in the care of
 a Bella Vista man arrested Wednesday on charges he sexually assaulted children
 and videotaped children in sex acts. More >>

  3/7/07 - UTAH AGENCY INDICTED IN SAMOA ADOPTION SCAM

  Operators of a private adoption agency in Utah are accused of duping parents in Samoa into giving them
  their children and then falsely describing the youngsters as orphans to prospective adoptive parents in
  the United States. More >>

  3/6/07

 CAROLINA SPRINGS ACADEMY REBUTTALS SLANDEROUS WEBSITES

 Elaine Davis is the Director of Carolina Springs Academy, a boarding school for
 struggling teens. Ms. Davis explains in her recent Press Release that websites have
 sprung up that she believes are slanderous against Carolina Springs Academy (CSA)
 and the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS).
 More >>

 WHAT FORMER STUDENTS AND PARENTS HAVE TO SAY - AND MORE More >>

  3/6/07 - CHILD NEGLECT CASE LEADS TO ANOTHER PROBE

  New Carrollton officials are investigating whether an unlicensed child-care facility was being operated in the
  house where a woman was charged with leaving her five children unattended in a trash-strewn basement.
  More >>

 3/6/07
 
 UN REPORT CALLS FOR ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN

 Washington, D.C., March 6, 2007 (PAHO)—Governments around the world
 must do more to protect children from violence, which has negative effects on
 child development and exacts a significant economic and social toll, says the
 United Nations' World Report on Violence against Children, presented today
 at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). More >>

  3/5/0 7 - BOY ALLEGES SEX ASSAULT AT KIDSPEACE CENTER
 
  State police said Sunday they are investigating an alleged sexual assault at the KidsPeace center for
  troubled youths in North Whitehall Township. More >>

 ANGIE'S BIRTHDAY - MARCH 3rd 

 Angie would have been 8! She loved parties and she loved presents! Please,
 take a moment and light a candle for Angie to give support for her family -
 every holiday, every birthday is difficult. Let us keep her story alive so that
 other children may be spared from the horrible treatment this beautiful little
 girl received at the hands of those who were supposed to be there to help
 her. "Bubbles in my Milk". Watch this moving video in Memory of Marcus
 Fiesel - "A Boy Who Loved Flowers"

  3/3/07 - CLAIMS ABOUT ORPHANS KEY IN SHADY ADOPTIONS

  A 135-count federal indictment unsealed Thursday accuses the Wellsville-based Focus on Children (FOC) and
  seven of its operators of duping parents in Samoa into giving their children to the agency. The indictment
  alleges the defendants lied to prospective adoptive parents in the United States by saying the youngsters
  were orphans and needed homes. More >>

3/3/07 - STUDENT SAID TO SHOW A KNIFE TO THERAPIST

 A Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School sophomore who is accused of stabbing a
 classmate to death in January brought a pocketknife and fake handgun to school on
 separate occasions last fall and did not face disciplinary action, despite showing the
 items to a psychologist at the school, the Sudbury police chief said yesterday.

 More >>
 

  3/1/07

  CITING ABUSES, TEXAS GOVERNOR OUSTS LEADER OF YOUTH AGENCY
  Gov. Rick Perry removed the chairman of the Texas Youth Commission on Wednesday over charges that the
  agency covered up the sexual abuse of incarcerated juveniles. More >>

  3/1/07 - UPDATE RE ANGELLIKA ARNDT HEARING - HEARING POSTPONED TO MARCH 12 at 1:00 p.m.

  The sentencing hearing on the Angellika "Angie" Arndt case scheduled tomorrow has been cancelled due to
  weather. The hearing has been rescheduled for March 12th at 1:00 p.m. Angie's story, "Bubbles in my Milk",
  by Isabelle Zehnder. Click here for more information.

  Want to share your feelings about Angie's death? If so, please e-mail your letter to info@caica.org.